Printer, Thermal may also be referred to as :

Tips for buying Printer, Thermal

Thermal printers can be
grouped in four categories: small color ultrasound and multimedia units,
large color ultrasound and multimedia units, grayscale ultrasound and
multimedia units, and radiography units.

Color and grayscale are the
two basic types of thermal printers that are available. These can be
further broken down into a range of sizes, including small and large.

Facilities should make sure
that the memory and throughput of the thermal printer they are about to
purchase can handle the number of imaging devices that will be connected
to it. They should also ensure that the thermal printer is able to
accommodate their patient loads.

Departments that handle a
heavy volume of images may consider purchasing a laser imager, which often
has higher throughput than video thermal printers.

For all printer categories,
ECRI recommends a throughput capability of 100 films/hour and 99 multiple
originals.

Automatic calibration is also
recommended for all units to ensure higher image quality and to reduce
human error.

Small color and grayscale
ultrasound and multimedia thermal printers require an average of 2
gigabytes (GB) of hard-drive storage.

To accommodate increased
throughput, large ultrasound, large multimedia, and radiography printers
require an average of 4 GB.

Spatial resolution (the
number of pixels) should be at least 300 dots per inch or 12.2 pixels/mm.

A thermal printer's contrast
resolution, the number of gray or color levels, should generally display 8
bits, corresponding to 256 gray levels or 16 million colors.

Thermal printers have several
advantages over wet-processing systems. First, they eliminate concerns
about pollution and the need for processing chemicals. They also reduce
some maintenance costs, such as darkroom ventilation, chemical storage,
and additional plumbing, electricity, and drainage. Thermal printers can
be strategically placed almost anywhere in a facility.

Facilities should look into
the thermal printer's interface options to ensure compatibility among the
printer, the scanning devices, and the hospital computer network.